Beehive



GQ L. FENNO June 24, 1930.

BEEHIVE Filed Feb. 20, 1928 2 Sheets-Sheet ai 7 Ise fitto-www f G. L.FENNQ BEEHIVE l June 24, 1930.

Filed Feb. 20, 1928 2 Sheets-Sheet fPavtentercl June v2.4, 193D e' GRACELEEFENNO, orv rALo`s1PARK,ILL1N0Isf f f This inventionf relates to heevhives vand more particularly to "an improved base for a hive and'elsotofa reieCtor/avnd lightholder which may' be rtempora-rily appliedftofthe hive Within 4the f hase inl order to allowr` the i interior of:` thehive to'l he?A illuminated 1 and observed throughthereflector Vandqueenhee eeusremovedx z, -v I One f'o'hjec'tv of the' invention is y'toprovide fthe hivefvvith ya f rhaseY rhaving greater :depth: thanusutl'fend' -sets therein spaced' from, eeh 1 other Y vertically -v'oftherv hase so'V thatl ai platform *upon ywhich the lbeestravel whenentering or leaving-the hive may he disposed tir entering-thehiveduringthe Winter.

"Anothergobjeet of :the inventionfis toa'llo'vv' the Cportion 'of the'base below the platform u e' v'tfbe tightlyfelosed during' the WinterWhen the plat'formfis dis @wie btdyjef nieuwe; l .A

Another 'object vof thinventio'n is `to l"pry vide" ieflec'eof'whch bereadily meer@ `"edf :Within theba'se when .-tl1,e}platf0rm .isremoved-end so' "forni the' yreflector:thetvhen' i Y shoulderl 8; 'orHgrooves" could *he formed; in

fthe sid'ej and 'rear-welle wrak@thexplae of n "tliestrips'.@Itshouldlbenotedithatlthe'fstrips;

thefhiveis illumintedffhy lighty verified by thev reflector,l colnhriiifthe, lower portion of p the` body he ,easilyse'en and surplus queenhee o'ells reinoveCTvjithout its'h'ei'ng necessary l *35 *todismantleithe hiveg." 5'" "t-or. nifty be Inoved into' properv positionto The invention. is iillustrted l1n nejoniv gpanylngjldravvings"wherein 'l' hive lin yslidej elevation-With; its buse inlongiftuclinalfsectionf and Closed'for 'the iWinter i elevationandpartially vin`'t-miisverse see? i Figi isY avieW lshovving the "ha-sefnd loivefr 'permitall of ,thecoinb infthe 'lower portion' "Fl'gure l"sia view' shovvingthe irripi'ovedg? Vportion'of lthe 'body of thehivein fronts-eleva'tion With the'reflee'torin'place; 1

" 'Figli is a View Showing-'theme57 f the hive in-s'ide elevationend'theha'se 'andf'r'e- Hectorin longitudinal section,v andf" `5 is a'perspectivenview ofthel reee j Therhive includes arhody portion`lfvvhioh is ofr Conventional Construct-'ion undVV rests-y upon a'jbase2. yTheloa-se isfofgreater depth than: bases of an ordinziiy-'Construction and includes a'fbottom', rearvvall 4Fendside 'Walls 5."-vThis base isopenfatit's front and Within'thehese there hasbeen providedup"- per fand' lower seats" upone'ither fof `virhi'ch "a platforlnvGrmay be removably supported.

reducingthe-thickness of the upperjportion eurly held in vvplatee: f

offthe'reafr Walle, and'thelovver seat 'c oiis'is'ts l Y v ofsiin'ilarstripsLQls'ecured againsttheside f f7 fnde terminate in fspac'edffelation@ the v l 1 Alforwerd''endsfytheisideWellsend'thait-the y n.

hottornij' isreduced:inthicknesselng*its f'rvvardledgefto providefdsetf'llffrlhere-L fore',Y when the-plntfor-rnV n6 i's'restingupon'fthe'upper strips@areinov'ablelfront losfure-'lQl 'A y "Inavb'eset in place;vtsshovvniinTngfs;`l.,end 1 f'2,'fzigfeinstI the fo'r'vvatrdv ends ofthe' strlpsirA nd'Q-With itslovver edgeportion resting 1n thejs'eetlf 11and'fits up'peif'edge'seaitedjinakv e Y "groove :11g-'formed inthenunder -faceffof the platform. ,f this arrangementltheffront{Closure'cunbe esily's'et in place-'andvvhen "the turngbuttons orjequivalent' Lfasteners `14` fCarried-by'the's'ide Walls are InovedtoexfA n tendfaoros's the' (interface ofthe-frOIIl :clov 'surees shown'inFig.-2,this Vclosurevvill hev 'Since Yth platform 1 leu' Vf; f.,

'az'nd' alstrip lOivhichi'sseCured ageinstfthe f inner'surfaceof y'the'rear'vvall between'the y rear ends ofthe side'strip. It-Will loe-under;stoodft'hat iffdesired' a stripeSini'ilarf'toz'the Strip 10;' 'could be"'employed'h p'lce '-"fl the so* is of greater lengththan the base, itwill project forwardly beyond the body and 'base and provide avery goodlanding stagerfor bees.V

' returningjto the hive and also. allow bees upon the upper seatprovided inthe base'and Y leaving the hive to easily take flight. Duringlthe winter the platform Vis supported the front closure .set in place,as shown in i Y Figspl and v2but during the summer when j the beesareworking the front'closur'e iseremoved land theplatform withdrawn from'the Y Vbase andVV then reset upon the lower seat, as

Y Y indicated b-y dotted linesin Fig/1.' Y`When rso disposed, the hiveVwill be Well ventilated andthe bees allowed to freely enter and leave`the hivebut'f when the .platform is resting upon A "the upper seat andVthe -frontclosure in place only sufficient space ywill`beprovidedlbetween the'r platform and lower edge Y'of the front wall ofthe body v,to prevent the bees vfrom smothering.

Whenfthe queen bee lays eggs,a number'of ycells'lin the `-eggholdingcomb'oontain queen bee eggsand, in order to preventbtoo Vmany lqueenbees fromp'hatching, itis necessary to remove .a certain numberVofthe queen bee p cells.- l'Jhis operationis ordinarily performed 1hypdismantling theehive'sufficient'to allow .the :caretaker to removesurplusv queen y'bee cell/sj, but itbveen found that Ythis is tedi-fp.`'housH'a-nd requiresagreat deal oftimegln or` ,der to allow the combfinthe lower portionof Y theftQdly-in Whiehahe'bees' are hargne@ @berinspeeted withoutv dismantling the hive, I

haveprovided a refiector which is illustrated sections are-fof greaterlength .than the center section andgproject forwardly therefrom,

thereby-jproviding,handle portions 19fwhich maybegrasped in order topermit the reflec-l :tor to be, moved transversely inthe base and thesectionsv thereof tilted relative to eac-hf other-A in order .to lallowall portions lof the bedy:aI-1dA the Y mirrors 2O and 21, v 'extend from:the: rear kor inner. ends V.of theA sections to ladfVVjacentvtheforwardedge of the center section. Y Therefore, when theYreiector Visnt-brust intoV Y the base after thefplatform has beenvremoved,

,itgpwill extendpracticallythe full depth of their free endsv to beengaged about pins 24 which'proj ect forwardly from the frontwall of thebody in spaced relation to Yeach other transversely thereof. By Vaninspection 'of Figs.- 3 and 4, it willv be readily seen that when thereflector is suspended from the pins bythe strands, it-may beeasilyfswung trans'- versely'in'the base andma'y `also be tilted ver-VAtically so that the operator'may easily see egg,

cells reflected inthe mirrorand by reaching `into the base with 1animplement'having a n a Y hooked end remove surplus queen bee cells.

Alcollar 25 which' is preferably formed of 'resilient wire bent todefine a loop having Vjawsf26` pivotally engaged in aV `bea-ring A 80sleeve 27 is provided so that a spotl1ght'28 Y gnected withthebearingsleeve, lthe spotlight may be tilted verticallyin ordertodirectjts light upwardly. Afterthe surplus queen bee )cells have beenremoved, the reflector-and .the

.cells whichvdrop upon it will be withdrawn from the base Vafterreleasing @the hooks 23 from `the pins 24VA and the platform Yagainset A'During the winter whenrthe bees :in V- the Vhive Vand the platform isin.its upper-f lmostY position shown in` ful-l jlines .,l

it is desired to prevent too much cold air enteri-ng thehivelethr'ough"thesmall space 'bei Y .v tween the platform and the loweredge ofthe :and thepo'rtion ofthe base'beloiv thejipat- Vf'orm' ispackedv andthe closure 12 1n place,

imo; Y@

front Wall oftherhive but at the Sametime .Y e

:allow sufficient fair to enter for: Ventilating y'purposes and also'allow theybeeslvto deter; f ffmine Whether VorV not the ,weatherr is VIn'ild {enought'o leave the"y `hivenwhen spring ap- Y proaches. YTherefore, I havejprovidedga e Vclosure29-which-may'be reflerredatoas .aI

i110 ureorlfront consists-offa,striporblockof lWinter-closure;or winterfront," This fcloswood of sufiicientwidthftoleXtendgthegfull f Awidthof; the'base,as shown in Fig'.V 2.". Refer:-v

u Y Y Y ring to-'this ligure and'to'Fig. k1,itfwill be ,hlveslto;beinspected` e The center section 16 i p Y l Y seen that*V theremovable; winter closurerests;l Vls-of VrapproXnn atelyi the samevlength" as the,

upon the platform G'anjdhasits rear end por- Y .tion formedvwith,anfeXtensi-on 30 which. isof Y such Vdimensions that'it 1' Willfitsnugly into j, @thespa'ce betweenthe platformandfthelower 'Y edge;Iof "the-[front :wall of Vthey bodyfporltion of the hive. Therefore,theentirespace ;Y ,betvveenithe front `vwall VofY tliehive anduthe'platform will'be` lilledfbyfthe extensioniand since the block projectsupwardlyinto.over-A lapping. relation to the frontwallof. the hive 1:25lavery,goodclosure'willbe.provided.`,The

Lippen-surface of therclosure- Slbp'estoWards the sides` ofthe base"and,therefdre, rain water and water from meltingfsnowonice which maycollectup'on thegbloclrwilldram -grooves may be formed inthe uppersurfacel mean/ii towards theivsides of the .basef If desired,

. of the block and guard strips'may be providclosure with grooves 31which extend froml ed alongits Afroi'it-andfrear edges to assist .in

guiding the water towards the sides of the base. Vhen the closure isin'place, itis desired to have a certain amount of airyenter.

the hive for ventilation'and also allow theV bees to approach the'entrance in order to determine lwhether or not thefweather is .mildenough for them to leave the hive..v Therefore, I have provided theunderyface of the its vfront to its rear edgeinspaced relation to its sidesand form passages allowing air to :pass into the hive in order vtoventilate it and tlirough which bees may passwhen they de.-v

' sire to determine whether or n-ot the Weather is mild enough for themto leave the hive. At their outer ends thegrooves or passages arecovered with wire screen 32, thefmeshes.`

of which are large enough toallow the bees to pass out butsufficientlysmall to prevent mice or other rodents from entering thehive through these. passages. It will thus be seen that, while the beesmay v move through the passages, they cannot be disturbed by rodentsentering the hive. f During the summer when theclosure l2 removed'andthe. platform shifted 4to the lower supporting stripsin the, base, the',winter lclosure is also :removed and- Y, put away togetherwith theclosure 12 until again needed.

" Having thus described the invention, I claim: l. In a bee hive, abodyga base supporting .said body and .fopen at itsQfront, upper andlower seats in said base, a platform'supporte'd upon one of said seatsand projecting forwardly beyond said body, anda closure vfor v the open.front of said base adapted to be removably secured therein betweenthebottom of the base and platform when the-V platform is supportedupontheupper seat.

2. In abee hive, abo'dy, abasesupporti-ng rsaid body and open at itstop4 and lforward end, thev walls ofi said`.base being provided withseats spaced'oneabove vanother andthe l' jccting forwardlybeyond thebody, a closurer removably received in the forward Vend of upper seatbeing disposed adjacent thetop of theA base, a removableplatformkrestingupon. a selected one of,.said seats and prosaid base betweenv itsbotto'maiid` said platform when the platform is'supported in its fuppermost position, and'rmeans yto releasably =secure said closure. i

' y3. In a bee hive, abody, a basersupporting j said body and open atvits top and forwardv lend, the walls of said. base being'provided" withseats spaced one above another and the,-

""iipp`er seats being disposed adjacent the vtop of the base, `aremovable'platform resting upon a: selected one of'saidseatsjand'project.

ing forwardly beyond the' base and,y adjacent extendingV transverselyacross its Vunder face,v

thelbottomof the base'having its` forward end reducedin thicknessk toprov-ide a seat] beneath said groove, and a closureV for fthe" forward'end' of said base removablyjreceived y thereinwhe-n saidv platform isinyits uppermost'positionrwith its upper edge portion vthe forward endofthe bfase having a groove received in said groove andV its ylower edgeiportion ,seatedlin the seat at the forwar'd'end of the bottom ofthebase.. l t* L In a v,bee hive, abody, abasesupporting said bodyand openV at `itstop andfront,.aV`V` Y platform `slidable intoVV and out .ofithebase tl'irojueg'li"the openfrontthereof and when in form invertically adjusted positions whereby the platform may beretained'indetermined yspaced relation below said body ii'ithits-.ex' tended'forward end constituting va'landing stage ,for` bees.

. L8()k placey ,projectingA forwardly* fromV the body, Q and means,insaidbaselto lsupport said platj. l5. In abeel hive, a basesupportingsaid body and open atjits top. and front, av

platform slidable into and 'out of the base'` f through the open frontthereof and when .in

place projecting forwardly from the body, means in saidl base to supportsaid platform .in vertically adjusted positions wherebythe vplatform'maybe retained inl determined spaced relation below said body with itseX-V.

tended forwardv end .constituting a..landing therein betweenitsbottomand said platform most position.

6. vIn abee hive,

a-plat-formsli'dable into and .out ofthe base place projectingforwardlyfrom the-body, the base being yprovided with` means to rsup,-Y

port the platformVV invertically adjusted 3 spaced'ielationto saidbody.; A 1

.7. In a bee hive, a body,- a base supportingl said'body and open latits front, a' platform .inV said base projecting forwardly beyond Ysaidbody andfopenV at its front,-a platform ein said v.base .projectingforwardly beyond said body and spaced below ,they body, and a winterclosure resting upon said platform in j, Y. i 'front ofV saidbody inoverlapping relation to y i,

the frontl of Vthe body and having a rearfeX- tension fitting intothespace'btweenthe platstage for bees, and a removablel closure for theopen forward end of said base' receivable r lo() Iy "when the platformis supported iii 'its upperv Y y a body, a' base supportingfu*Asaidbodyand 'open at its top and front,.and j l 105! through the openfront thereof and when inV f', f

form andbodsaid Jcl'osuie having its under,V

lating openn'gsfand passages 'thjo'u-gh which Y boe-s may 'leaveandonter the luv'e.

9.111 a bee hive, a `bocly,-fa base suppoltng said body'and open at itsiront, a plat-fom Saidlaody. and spaced vbelowl `the body, and a ivt'e''closure mating upon Ysaid platform ln n front 'ol' 'Saidbody'n*overlapping relation 5toY the front of the body and having arearextension Yf'iitg into the Space lotwen VelleY plat- :form andbod'y,'tl1e portion of the Vclosure in "ifro'ntvof the body having itsuppei sufaoo sloping towards the sides 'of the Vbase, the

under surface of -fsad closure having g'grooy'e-sl formed'theio'andfcohsttuting passages 'throughjiyhoh bees mayleave andente'rthohive.

Y In lt-'estmony Wheiof I affix my signature. 'l

' j j Miss GRACE LEE .-FENNO. [L sq

